Daddy's Little Girl
by TheNuttyAuthor
Summary: Jackie's always been a good girl. She's a shy, kind woman, a killer with a wrench who saves Little Sisters. She doesn't know why, but she's a fighter. And Frank Fontaine watches her, controlling his little ace in the hole with commands and sweet praise. My take on what would have happened if Jack had been a girl. Fem!Jack Wynand.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the legal copyright to any media in the _Bioshock_ franchise. I'm just a fangirl who has an often-played copy of the game (many tears have been shed because of this game) and an idea I thought would make a good story.

Author's note: This was beta-read by the amazing Storychan. Potential trigger warning for Fontaine's use of racial slurs, which are period typical and IC, but might bother readers.

-00000000-

Two weeks after Doctors Tenenbaum and Suchong had told him they were actually making progress in training his ace in the hole, Frank Fontaine sauntered down to Fontaine Futuristics. He needed to examine The Project. He'd been generous, giving the scientists two weeks to make more progress, and if The Project were a liability, it would be scrapped. They'd have to start over with another one of Ryan's mistresses.

Fontaine had _those two_ working together on The Project because he knew they squabbled every time they had to collaborate. After all the shit they'd given him lately, it was only fair to stick them with a coworker that got on their nerves as much as they got on his, right? Heh. Entertainment, really, to watch them fight like dogs. It was too damn funny to not fuck with them like that, even if it did slow the project down. The Kraut bitch and Chinaman bastard kept arguing, so he had them working together more often than necessary at Fontaine Futuristics. Even more fucking hilarious? They couldn't complain about it. They'd get fired.

His receptionist, Lynette Jones, shot him a mild glower when she saw him coming in, making a beeline towards her. He kept expecting her to quit, but somehow, she still kept this job. Oh, how Frank _loved_ pissing her off. She was one of the only people who didn't act like he was the boogeyman of Rapture itself. Rather refreshing after all the suck-ups and kiss-asses he dealt with.

"Hello, Mister Fontaine," she groaned, rolling her eyes. "Doctor Suchong is expecting you. He said, and I quote, 'Don't be wasting Suchong's valuable time.' The hell is that about?" She crossed her arms over her chest, upgrading the glower to a simmering glare.

"It ain't yer damn business, Nettie. Ya ain't paid to be questionin' why I do shit. Ya jus' do what I pay ya for. Now lemme into _my lab_ so I can talk to 'em. They're workin' on an important project for me."

"I toldja a thousand times, my name's _Lynette_, you bastard!" Her right hand slammed forward onto her desk, sparking up with Electro Bolt.

"Gal, just lemme in to see the bastard. I gotta find out if this project's gonna be worth my while."

Lynette groaned, turning off her plasmid and buzzing him into the lab. That was a good gal.

Frank took the elevator into his lab, noticing that a rather rumpled-looking Doctor Suchong was glaring at him. "Fontaine, you sneaky son of bitch!" yelled Suchong. "Showing up unannounced, giving Suchong no warning! Suchong not ready!" He pushed up his glasses.

Ugh. Uppity chink bastard. Frank just smirked at the scientist. He drawled, "I told Nettie I was comin'. Ain't my fault if she didn't pass along the damn message. How's my project comin' along? Is the damn kid able to do weapons training yet?"

"Tch! Fontaine!" Suchong spat out a long string of insults in Chinese. Fontaine could distinctly make out the phrases _goddamn you, Fontaine, you stupid son of a bitch _and _Fontaine, get your dick out of my ass and stop fucking me_. Suchong said those things often enough in Chinese for Frank to pick up on what the bastard was telling him.

"You told Suchong to make Baby into sleeper agent in two years. Fontaine, you rush Suchong! Cannot work with demands! You want weapons training for Baby! Why is this a problem now? Suchong is conditioning Baby's mind so that Baby doesn't hate you when it follows orders."

"Daddy's here?" A tiny pair of hands clung tightly to Suchong's leg. Hell. That fuckin' kid picked a bad person to hide with. Suchong _hated_ kids. It was why he'd been Fontaine's choice to condition the Little Sisters...and why Suchong was _damned good_ at his job. The kid's voice sounded like it was five, and the hands matched, but Frank wasn't good at guessing the ages of children. He wondered what propaganda his puppeteers had told the kid. It was calling him _daddy_, of all things. Fuck. What did they tell it?

He didn't even know if it was a boy or a girl he'd gotten out of Operation: Death To Andrew Ryan. Honestly, he'd prefer a boy. Fontaine wouldn't have to take a soft approach with a boy the way he'd need to take with a weaker, more delicate girl. There was no way that a girl could be an effective sleeper agent. She'd have too much goddamned emotion getting in the way of all of Fontaine's plans.

"You. Baby. Go to weapons training. Now. Suchong not having time for Baby's shit. Suchong already have to deal with son of bitch Fontaine now. Cannot deal with son of bitch and little shit at same time."

"No! I wanna see my daddy! I wanna see Daddy! I heard lots about him, lots and lots! You and Mama Tenenbaum tell me so much about him!" Then the little shit let go of Suchong's leg and ran forward. Damn. The stupid kid wasn't really that obedient.

He'd only seen a tiny, pale pair of hands before the child came into his view. Now he could only stare at the child, feeling gobsmacked. Long, messy dark brown hair tied back into pigtails crudely tied with pink gingham ribbons. Big brown eyes. An oversized blue dress that looked like it came from one of the Little Sisters. No shoes or stockings. This wasn't the tough boy he'd paid for. Fontaine sighed. Well, the girl _was_ Andrew Ryan's daughter. With _those _genes, she'd be one hell of a tough dame when she was grown to the right age, he supposed.

The girl hugged his leg, looking up at him with childish adoration akin to the way Little Sisters looked at Big Daddies. Christ. If she'd had blue eyes, she'd look just like Andrew Ryan. Her resemblance to the son of a bitch was uncanny. "Hi, Daddy!" She beamed at him, like he was the most important person in her life. Damn. What the hell was he supposed to do with a needy brat like this? _Wait, _he thought. Hmm… He could really use that adoration to his advantage.

"What's yer name, doll?"

-00000000-

She cocked her head, clinging tighter to Daddy's leg. She didn't want to stop touching him. He looked just like the pictures that she'd seen of him. Maybe he'd take her to Fleet Hall, so they could hear Sander Cohen's music play. She liked Sander Cohen's music. It was on the radio all the time, cause Mama Tenenbaum and Papa Suchong only played Rapture Radio's radio show and music channels. No news, no news for her. "Daddy? What do you mean, what's my name?"

"I _said_, what's yer name, doll? This is yer daddy askin' ya. Don' be shy. I ain't gonna hurt you." It was a lie, but if he acted like her savior or whatever, he'd earn her trust.

Letting go of Daddy's leg, the girl scooted back and reached out her small hand towards him. "I don't have one. Everyone else has a name. Papa Suchong and Mama Tenenbaum and you have names, and so do the lab assistants that draw my blood every Monday. I don't have a name. I'm called Baby, or Zee Subject, or The Little Shit."

"Well, we gotta give ya a name,. How's about…." _Fuck, I don't know, _Frank thought. He was going to name the kid "Jack," if it were a boy, just because it was the simplest name out there. A good name for a dog, which was basically what he was building here. What was the chick equivalent of Jack? "Jacqueline", he decided. "Jacqueline Frances Ryan." The "Frances" bit was after him, and the "Ryan," of course, was after the bastard she was going to kill for him.

The little girl let the name he gave her sink in like it were a mantra. She had a name! A name! Jacqueline Frances Ryan. That was a long long name, and it was hers, and she loved it. Daddy gave it to her! Daddy gave her a name! She clapped her hands together, smiling big at him.

Here was Daddy, right in front of her. She'd been waiting to meet him so long, and it was better than she'd ever imagined. Daddy was a hero. Daddy was a man of the people, and she didn't know what that meant, but it was a Good Thing. He was the smartest, most wonderful daddy in the world. Daddy loved her, and he'd come here to see her today. She was so happy! This was the best day in her life!

"Okay! I have a name! I have a name! Tell them I have a name! Tell them my name, Daddy! Tell Mama Tenenbaum and Papa Suchong my name!" She smiled up at him, running over and hugging his legs. "I love it! I love it! Oh, Daddy, I love you! I wanna be your good girl, Daddy, please let me be your good girl!" She giggled and hugged him as tight as she could. He was the best! He named her, and nobody else would name her, and it felt great to be wanted by Daddy.

He made a noise that sounded like those sighs that Papa Suchong made when he was upset with her. Did she do something bad? The girl backed up. She didn't want to upset Daddy! No! Jacqueline couldn't upset Daddy! He named her and he loved her!

Tears came to her eyes, and she whimpered, holding her hands above her head. What if he hit her? What if he didn't want her anymore? "Daddy? Was I bad? Good girls gather, gather, gather," she sang. "That's what the Little Sisters say. Sometimes, Papa Suchong has them and me do things together. We have 'similar mental conditioning needs,' that's what Papa Suchong says. Most the time, we pull levers and get chips and candy when we pull the right one. And we get shocked when we pull the wrong one! Owwwie! I don't _like _getting shocked, Daddy!" She sounded out the words Papa Suchong had said, not really knowing why he talked like that. He used a lot of big words.

She started crying when she saw Daddy's face. Daddy looked sad-angry, the way Mama Tenenbaum did whenever she put electrodes on Jacqueline and gave her the "nutrition shots" that Papa Suchong had made special for her because she was a special special girl. Daddy was sad! Daddy shouldn't be sad! He had her, and she loved him!

"That ain't right. C'mere, Jacqueline." He picked her up and put her on his shoulders, the way Little Sisters got to be on the shoulders of their Daddies. She squealed and giggled, kicking her heels against him as he walked. Daddy had her, and she was safe, and she trusted he wouldn't let her fall.

They went to see Papa Suchong. Jacqueline didn't know why. Daddy knew what he wanted to say. She whimpered and tried to climb onto Daddy's back so that Papa Suchong couldn't see her. "He already gave me my shots, Daddy!" Daddy had his arm on her, keeping her on his shoulder, and she reached out to grab his big hand.

"What does Fontaine want this time? Suchong is busy. You were so concerned with Baby's weapons training. The little shit will bring you there. I think results will please you." Papa Suchong looked like he was working on a formula. Another one for her! She got lots of formulas to make her grow right, and she had to take the shots in both arms. The needles didn't hurt much. They were sharp.

"Lookit the fuckin' kid. She loves me! You were usin' them Little Sister conditioning techniques on little Jacqueline, right? Heh. Makin' her go into that—eh, what's it called?— Skinner box?—an' givin' her a treat when she pulled a lever with my mug on it, shockin' her when she don't. Eh, you can stop now. She already can't get enough of me. Can you, Jacqueline?"

Daddy used a bad word! Jacqueline giggled, climbing down Daddy's back and jumping to the floor. She grabbed Daddy's hand, clinging to it and smiling up at him. "I love you, Daddy. You're the smartest, strongest, bravest daddy in the world. I'm gonna protect you forever with my wrench and my gun, Daddy. I'm not that good with them, but I'll get better. I promise, Daddy! I promise!" She needed to get to the weapons training room. Had to. Had to. Needed to show her skills to Daddy. So he could see how well she could protect him.

"Yes. Mental conditioning is working. Fontaine. You showing up helped with conditioning. She knows you now. What else do you need? Suchong is busy working on growth formula for little shit. We make her the right age so that in two years, Baby is twenty-one."

They were talking about her. She knew. She wasn't good enough. She squeezed Daddy's hand tight, tight, tight, gripping it with all her strength. Jacqueline had been told she was really strong before. She'd bring Daddy to the weapons training room, and she'd show him what she could do.

Daddy snorted. "She's too skinny. Look at the damn dress she's wearin', ya stupid chink. It's too big on her." Daddy held up her arm. Jacqueline got nutrition shots three times a day unless it was Zappy Box Fun Time with the Little Sisters, and then she got chips and chocolate. The Little Sisters all seemed to weigh more than she did. They ate food. They didn't get nutrition shots the way Jacqueline did. But Jacqueline was a special, special little girl.

"The girl's all skin an' bones, an' she ain't got any baby fat on her. What the hell've you been feedin' her? She ain't gonna grow up properly like _this_."

Papa Suchong glared. It was his angry glare. The I-don't-have-time-for-your-shit glare. "That the smallest size dress for little girls this age in store! We go to sneak around buying clothes for Baby nobody know about, so what you expect? Baby is fine. She has nutrition formula given to her in shots. Why is _this_ problem, Fontaine? Suchong made sure Baby is getting all the nutrition she needs."

"She _needs_ normal food. Ain't normal for a child ta be this skinny. What kinda fucking results are you expecting me to get from this little shrimp?"

Oh no! This was awful! Jacqueline could tell that an Argument was starting. She'd gotten good at avoiding Arguments. Mama Tenenbaum and Papa Suchong had _several_ Arguments every week. Usually about her. She let go of Daddy's hand and ran towards the weapons training room..

-00000000-

She picked up a pistol. Looked at the paper target shaped like a man. Loaded her ammunition the way she'd been shown. Hands shaking, she lined up the gun, looked down its sights, and aimed for the knees. She never missed the knees.

_Bang! Bang! Bang! _One of her shots went wide. The other two hit the kneecaps just like it was supposed to. Not good enough. Her hands still shook. She could usually handle the pistol's recoil and size, but it seemed too heavy now. Her head throbbed. She couldn't stop until she'd emptied the magazine. The pistol's magazine held six shots. Jacqueline backed up and aimed for the heart this time. _Bang! Bang! Bang!_ Her shots hit the target...better than she usually did. Yay! She dropped the pistol, not wanting to hold it anymore. But she had to use her wrench now.

Jacqueline picked up her big wrench. She ran up swinging at the next target, screaming and shrieking as she pretended that it was a Bad Man who wanted to hurt Daddy. Nobody hurt her Daddy! Nobody! She'd kill them first!

Her arms felt heavy.

She'd gotten only one of her nutrition shots today. Something was wrong. She got one at six in the morning, one at twelve in the afternoon, and one at six in the night. The clock in training said it was twelve forty-five.

Something was wrong with _her_. She didn't feel good. Her head hurt, her arms were heavy, and her legs wanted to fall down. She kept swinging her wrench. Had to. Had to keep swinging her wrench, so she could show Daddy what a good job she was doing. The wrench was easy. The pistol had recoil. She was just a little girl.

Her body wanted to fall. No! No! When Daddy came in here, he'd see that she was a good girl for training! Good girls were obedient and got rewarded! Jacqueline had to be a good girl. If she wasn't a good girl, Daddy wouldn't love her. He'd hate her. She shrieked, loud, and swung the wrench as hard as she could at that stupid stupid target. Her body hurting was not normal.

Jacqueline fell, still gripping her wrench with her right hand. There was a _thunk _as she hit the floor. She yawned. Her eyes were all heavy, and she closed them. Letting herself go to sleep. Jacqueline could fall asleep _anywhere_ when she was tired.

-00000000-

She woke up in a soft bed, blankets tucked around her. Nice, soft, cozy blankets. Why did she have a soft bed and lots of blankets? She had a cot. She usually woke up in the cot. It wasn't a nice cot like this bed was nice. She blinked. Was she dreaming? This wasn't her cot. This wasn't her room. She didn't even _have _a room. She had a corner where her cot had been put and a blanket that wasn't soft. It was scratchy and made her itch.

She wasn't dreaming. The room didn't go away. Its walls were a soft, light blue. So were the blankets.

Someone took her! "Daddy! Daddy!" she screamed as loud as she could, hoping that her brave, strong daddy would come to save her. "Daddy! Where am I? Daddy!"

He didn't come. Jacqueline whimpered. Daddy didn't love her anymore. Cause she failed at shooting the target perfectly. She sniffled. Tears came to her eyes, and she closed them. No. She couldn't cry. Crying was bad girl behavior. Good girls didn't cry. Papa Suchong didn't like it when her or the Little Sisters cried. He yelled at them.

She could smell something that made her open her eyes, and she didn't know what it was, but it smelled really good. Footsteps came close to her, and so did the good smell. She had pillows. She sat up on the pillows, sniffing the air and drooling a bit. What was it? She'd never smelled anything like it before. Daddy entered the room with a tray and the good-smelling thing, and Jacqueline smiled. Daddy! He brought her here! This must be where _her_ daddy lived! Daddy had such a nice place to live! It had soft beds that weren't pushed into corners, and blankets that didn't make her itchy. The rest of Daddy's place must be just as nice.

"Daddy? What's that? It smells really good. Is it ny nutrition shot? Why does it smell this good? Nutrition shots never smell like anything."

Daddy walked up to her bed and smiled at her. "Mornin', Jacqueline. I made ya some breakfast."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: Jacqueline's already starting to pick up some of Fontaine's bad habits. This chapter beta-read and polished by the amazing Storychan.

-00000000-

"Eat your fucking breakfast, kid," said Fontaine the next morning, slamming a plate down on the table where Jacqueline was seated.

"What's _breakfast, _Daddy?" Jacqueline asked. It was a new thing that Daddy was giving her, and she didn't know why. Her eyes widened. The things - whatever they were - smelled strange, but good. Was this _breakfast_? Good-smelling things, brought to her on plates?

Her eyes widened as she stared at the things on the plate. She hadn't seen anything like them before, and they were all some shade of brown. Was _breakfast_ always brown?

_Why did Daddy get me the _breakfast_? _she wondered. _Did he make it? What is it? This has to be good. Daddy made it for me, and Daddy would never give me anything bad, right? _Jacqueline knew she had to trust her Daddy. He'd brought her here, hadn't he? Away from the cold, sterile lab and into his warm home. He wouldn't do that if he wasn't a good guy, right? Besides, she considered, her stomach was beginning to grumble and hurt, the way it did when she didn't get her nutrition shots on time.

Her head hurt too.

Daddy smiled at her. She was proud to have earned a smile from him. It meant she was a good girl. The Little Sisters got smiles from their Daddies all the time when they were good. Or, at least the Sisters told her they were smiling. She never saw their faces. Maybe Daddy would hug her, too, if she was good! The Little Sisters looked so happy when they got hugs from their Daddies. Nobody had ever held her like that. She'd do whatever she had to do to earn a hug, she supposed, including eating this mysterious _breakfast_, but...it smelled so strange, and she didn't know how she was supposed to eat it, anyway. Was it really food? It didn't look like the food she knew. She stared down at it uncertainly.

She watched as Daddy let out a sigh. His smile faded, and he sounded sad. No! Daddy was always supposed to be happy Daddy! "Ya little shrimp. I keep forgettin' they don't fuckin' feed ya. C'mon, kid. Ya need to eat. Breakfast is good for ya. Ain't ya fuckin' hungry?"

"What does fuckin' hungry mean?" she asked. She didn't know why he talked like that. Mama Tenenbaum and Papa Suchong didn't say bad words all the time. In the short time she knew Daddy, she'd noticed he said bad words all the time. Jacqueline loved Daddy. She wanted to talk like Daddy and say the things Daddy said.

"It means ya wanna eat, goddammit! Yer stomach's growlin', an' that means yer fuckin' hungry! Geez, you're slow. For fuck's sake, just eat, okay?"

Oh...Daddy was mad at her cause she wasn't listening to her tummy. Daddy was mad! He was so mad at her! Her stomach growled and gurgled loudly. She sniffed at the strange-smelling food. She was hungry, but...she'd never seen anything like this food before. How was she supposed to approach it? Why couldn't she just eat the way she did before?

He shoved the tray of food at her, glaring. "Jacqueline Frances Ryan. Eat yer goddamn food. Now." Oh, he looked so mad! She whimpered.

"But Daddy, I've never seen my goddamn food before. I only seen chips and chocolate bars, and the things Papa Suchong eats. He calls it 'Chinese food not for Stupid Baby.' Why isn't this goddamn food chips or chocolate? It doesn't smell or look like chips or chocolate, and you're saying this is goddamn food."

"Jacqueline, sweetheart?"

"Yes, Daddy?" She looked up at him and grinned. Daddy wanted to talk to her! She felt so happy! Her tummy kept making noise and hurting. That didn't make her happy, but her tummy would wait. What mattered was Daddy. He called her sweetheart!

"I got a business to run. I don't have time for you to be so damn picky. Look, it ain't poison, alright? And I don't got time to make you somethin' else." He put his head in his hands, frustrated. Then, he looked up as if he'd gotten an idea. "Would you kindly just fuckin' eat whatever food I put in front of you?"

_Would. You. Kindly._ As soon as he said the words, a vacant smile spread across her face, and suddenly she understood. She must do what Daddy wanted. Yay! She wanted to do what Daddy wanted! She remembered she hadn't wanted to do it a moment before, but she couldn't recall why. All her reasons for wanting to not eat had suddenly vanished from her mind. But….that was fine, wasn't it? Daddy loved her. He wouldn't ever make her do bad things. "Okay, Daddy!" She looked at the fork and knife on the plate. She'd seen Papa Suchong use these before when he took a lunch break at the lab after performing tests on her. She knew what to do.

She had to eat. _Would you kindly just fuckin' eat whatever food I put in front of you? _A tiny bit of doubt still lingered within Jacqueline, but...suddenly her hand was moving of it own accord, as if she were a puppet, picking up the fork, stabbing the top golden brown, flat thing. What was she doing? Why was she doing it? It didn't matter. She brought the fork to her mouth and took a bite without even realizing what she was doing. Swallowing, she ate more and soon devoured the entire thing. And another. And another. She didn't know what it was called. She had to eat it. _Would you kindly_, Daddy said.

There was still more food. On the plate. She couldn't stop. Needed to eat more. Had to eat more. _Whatever food I put in front of you._ She was full now, and it was starting to hurt to continue, but the food was in front of her, so she had to eat it, regardless of the fact that her hunger was long since sated.

Tears were streaming down her face as she thought she might be sick if she ate another bite. She tried to stop. _Would you kindly_. She had to keep eating. Had to. _Whatever food I put in front of you. _Daddy had put this tray of food in front of her. Her tummy hurt more. It wasn't a hurt she was used to, but Daddy wanted her to eat what he'd put in front of her. That meant if Daddy gave her food, she had to eat all of it. She whimpered. Kept eating.

The different food-tastes were so strange. Nothing tasted like chocolate or chips. Those were the only things she'd ever eaten before as a reward whenever she pulled the lever with Daddy's face on it. Were different foods supposed to taste different from each other? Why was she getting food when she hadn't pulled a lever with Daddy's face on it? She didn't understand! Her tummy hurt so much worse than it did when she didn't get her nutrition shots on time! She was gonna get sick cause now the gurgles and grumbles in her tummy said _pain_ and not _hungry_.

"Fuck, quit crying, kid!" said Fontaine sharply when he finally noticed Jacqueline's panicked, queasy expression. "Er, would you kindly stop eating before you make yourself fucking sick?"

Jacqueline dropped the fork in sweet relief. She was allowed to stop! Daddy let her stop. He'd saved her. That was proof that he cared for her, right? He didn't want her to be fucking sick.

"Ey, Jacqueline. Kid," Fontaine continued, scratching his head, after Jacqueline had had a chance to catch her breath. " Yer a fuckin' shrimp, and the shots were makin' ya a fuckin' shrimp. How much ya weigh?" He cared about her weight! That was so nice of Daddy! He really, really cared about her! She got weighed daily. Mama Tenenbaum and Papa Suchong would pick her up and carry her to a scale. Then they'd write down her weight on a chart.

"I weigh twenty-five pounds, Daddy. I know 'cuz Mama Tenenbaum and Papa Suchong check it every day. The Little Sisters get their weights done every day too, and the ones my age are all lots fatter than me. Most are about thirty-five pounds," she said, rubbing her aching tummy.

Daddy stared at her like she'd just said something bad. Was she a bad girl? Yes! She was a bad girl! She'd disappointed Daddy! Jacqueline was a bad girl! He sighed sadly. "Yer too fuckin' skinny. I toldja, yer a fuckin' shrimp. What kinda fucking results am I gonna get with ya?"

Whatever a fuckin' shrimp was, it wasn't something Daddy liked. She didn't want to be a fuckin' shrimp if Daddy didn't like that. He didn't think he'd get good fucking results with her. Did that mean she was a bad girl? She wanted to give him good fucking results!

It made her sad. Her eyes felt heavy and like water was in them. Crying. That was bad girl behavior. Papa Suchong always said she sprung a leak when he saw her do that.

Not only had she disappointed Daddy, but her tummy hurt a lot, and she knew it shouldn't hurt. Her hands felt sticky and dirty, because she'd reverted back to her customary method of eating with her hands. She'd given up on the fork halfway through the meal, because she'd never used one before and couldn't figure out how to do it right. She felt stupid. She didn't ever get this much food before. _It's not like Mama Tenenbaum and Papa Suchong will give me food again. Daddy told Papa Suchong to stop Zappy Box Fun Time. The only time I ever get food is when I pull the lever with Daddy's face on it during Zappy Box Fun Time._ She bit her lip and showed him her hands. Her eyes still leaked. What if Daddy didn't love her anymore?

"Kid, ya gotta clean your hands. Would you kindly stand up an' lemme take you to the bathroom to get clean?" Daddy took the empty tray from her. She didn't notice. _Would. You. Kindly._ The words sang in her ears, buzzed buzzed buzzed in her mind. The song drowned out everything else, and she obeyed without even thinking.

_Stand up. _She clumsily slid out of the chair, trying not to slip on the rungs because it was so high off the ground. Her bare feet touched the floor.

_Lemme take you to the bathroom to get clean. _Bathroom! She knew what a bathroom was. A bathroom had a toilet and a sink! Daddy was gonna put her naked in the sink and wash her, like Mama Tenenbaum did in the big, industrial sink at the lab, with its eyewash station and dirty beakers waiting to be cleaned. She often felt like she was a dirty beaker that Mama Tenenbaum had to clean when it was Bath Time. But, why did she even have her dress on if it was Bath Time? Mama Tenenbaum always took her dress off before Bath Time. Now Daddy was gonna wash her and get her clean, and she followed him, but Daddy didn't seem to understand the rules.

Daddy was walking into a room that had a toilet and a small sink, but it also had something else in it. Jacqueline followed him, still sucking her fingers, tiny legs making it hard for her to keep up with him.

She wanted to know what the room was, so Daddy could take her to the small sink and wash her like a good girl got washed. She understood why the sink and toilet were there, but what was this other thing? The other thing was kind of like a bed with the middle gone, but it didn't have blankets, and it was in the bathroom. It had _legs_ like her cot had legs. So strange! She didn't know why a bed was in the bathroom. Beds didn't go in the bathroom.

Jacqueline took off her dress and removed the ribbons from her hair. She had to be naked now. It was how Bath Time worked. Didn't Daddy understand Bath Time? But now her dress was gonna be all sticky like her hands, and she only had one dress! She sucked on her fingers like she did whenever she had something to eat during Zappy Box Fun Time, trying to get some of the sticky stuff _off_.

"Daddy! Are you gonna wash me in the sink? You said you were gonna make me all clean, and I don't know why there's a bed in here." She looked up at him, jumping up and down as she smiled at him. "Daddy! Wash me!"

Daddy groaned and pointed to the strange bed. "That ain't a bed. 'S a bathtub. For fuck's sake, kid, ya really ain't smart. Dontcha know anythin' 'bout shit?" She didn't know anything about what a _bathtub_ was, but it looked like a bed with a big hole in the middle and no blankets. There were some knobs on the wall near the strange bed that reminded her of the knobs on the sink. Why?

"What's a bathtub?" She stared at the bathtub. Another new thing that came with a new word! It looked funny, and Daddy started turning one of the knobs. Water came out of a faucet, pouring into the bathtub as it made a quiet roaring noise. Eep! She jumped back, hiding behind Daddy and clinging to his leg. Scary! She didn't like that noise! She'd never heard anything like it before! Something was wrong with the water! _Bathtubs are bad! It's gonna get me! It's roaring! Why is it making that noise? I don't like this bathtub! I'm scared! Daddy doesn't love me if he's gonna put me in this during Bath Time instead of the sink! He hates me! It's cause I'm a bad girl! I did something bad! I did something really bad!_

"Th' hell're ya doin', Jacqueline? Get in the fuckin' tub! It ain't gonna hurtcha!" Daddy picked her up. He carried her to the scary roaring bathtub, groaning and sighing like he was mad.

"No, Daddy! It's scary! It's real scary! I don't wanna die in there!" She kicked her small feet, trying to make him stop. Her feet didn't kick him at all, so she scratched and clawed at him, shrieking as tears fell down her face. She was crying again. She was a bad girl. Of course she was a bad girl! Daddy wanted her to die in the bathtub! She'd done something bad to make him not want her anymore, and she wanted to be a good girl like the Little Sisters were good girls. What had she done to deserve this? She had to tell Daddy she was sorry and make it stop!

"Just lemme put ya in the goddamned bathtub, would you kindly."

_Would. You. Kindly._ The words buzzed in her mind, and she felt her body go limp. Daddy wanted her in the fuckin' goddamned bathtub. He'd called it that. She stopped kicking. Stopped scratching. He hadn't said to stop shrieking, and she kept shrieking and crying.

He put her into the bathtub. The water was really wet! Wet and warm, and it was gonna make her die! She was gonna die in there! She could feel the water all around her, and she let out a loud shriek. "No, Daddy! No! Daddy! Don't hurt me, Daddy! You're my daddy, don't be a bad daddy like the Big Daddies who abandon the Little Sisters!"

-00000000-

"Vhat do you vant, Herr Fontaine?" Brigid Tenenbaum despised these unscheduled visits. Fontaine thought he could walk into _her lab_ without telling her first. Despite her distaste for that fucking idiot Herr Suchong she was forced to work with, she agreed with him on this one thing; it was quite rude to interrupt a scientist at work. She watched as Fontaine's mouth twisted into a sharklike grin that made her stomach feel as though it were tying itself in knots. Tenenbaum could see the Nazis who experimented on her. They grinned in the same, horrible, monstrous way. Her heart raced. She forced herself to take deep breaths to keep calm. _Don't show weakness in front of Herr Fontaine. He feeds off of fear._

Discovering ADAM from the sea slug had been a major accomplishment for the city of Rapture, and yet the men who ran the reputable, legitimate research facilities thought her discoveries lacked enough worth to be developed more. Herr Fontaine had the only research facility that hadn't rejected her work. If she had a choice, she would not have worked for Fontaine Futuristics.

She had no choice. Herr Fontaine was the only one who would employ her. She loathed the man, despised him with every fiber of her being, and yet she had no choice.

"'Ey, ya stupid fuckin' Kraut bitch, ya gotta feed th' girl. She's all skin an' bones, an' I ain't gonna get good fuckin' results outta her. I knew I shouldn't have fucking trusted you with this job..I told you to make her big and strong! Fuckin' shrimp's only twenty-five pounds, an' I know ya know that, cause th' girl said she got weighed on th' scale every day. Why the fuck can't ya do what I pay ya for and make her big enough to fight? I knew the minute you told me she came out female that we were gonna have fuckin' problems. Girls are so weak. I gave 'er a lot of real food, but, ya know, she ain't never gonna gain weight if ya keep givin' her them nutrition shots instead of putting real meat on her bones. Can ya feed 'er three meals a day like a normal kid? Fuckin' kid. She eats a lot, an' she gets a real swollen belly when she's done with 'er food."

_Stupid fuckin' Kraut bitch._ It didn't matter how many times Herr Fontaine called her a Kraut; his racist words felt like blows to her very body. Tenenbaum's stomach felt as though it were twisting itself in knots, tying together and making her feel sick inside. She scowled at her boss. "Herr Fontaine, 'Kraut' ist zee racist vord."

"Who fuckin' cares, ya crazy Kraut? Make the kid strong enough to do what she was made to do or you're fucking fired, alright? Do you get how important this project is?"

Far more important than the racism, which she was subjected to every day, Herr Fontaine was rudely invalidating her hypothesis that the subject wouldn't need to eat. Tenenbaum had developed the nutrition shots as a substitute for the time spent feeding a child; her hypothesis was that the subject, raised to be a soldier for Herr Fontaine, would receive the shots and not require food. The subject _was _unnaturally skinny for a child; properly-fed children had a significant amount of body fat and weren't remotely as skeletal. "Scheisse!" she swore, grumbling under her breath as she realized that Herr Fontaine might have a point. There was a saying in English: A stopped clock was right twice a day. Tenenbaum had seen children with the same lack of body fat in the camp. Auschwitz. They were starved children, rarely getting anything to eat; Tenenbaum had sworn she wouldn't do that to the children _she_ experimented on when she realized she needed to create the Little Sisters. Yet...she was starving the subject and giving her nutrition shots three times a day instead of food. Had she become cruel like the doctors that experimented on her? She had no qualms about what she did to the girls in the name of science.

"Ja, Herr Fontaine, I care about Zee Subject und her unique needs. Zee Subject ist special kind. Du only care about Zee Subject's kampffähigkeiten."

"Th' fuck does _that_ mean, ya crazy Kraut?"

She sighed. Sometimes, she forgot the exact words in English that she needed. "Combat prowess, Herr Fontaine. Zat ist all du care about. I vill feed Zee Subject zee three meals per day zhat zee Little Sisters are getting. She ist...veighing far too little for a child her age. Zee shots give Zee Subject her nutrition, but she ist lacking body fat."

"I gave 'er a name, ya know." Herr Fontaine had a horrible smirk on his face; that never boded well for Tenenbaum. She despised that smirk. It was almost worse than his sharklike grin, predatory and reminiscent of the Nazis. If he named the subject, it was likely because he needed something to call her. When she didn't say anything, he continued. "Yeah. She gots a name now. 'Er name's Jacqueline Frances Ryan, an' I names 'er that so's we never forget why we made 'er."

"I still don't understand, Herr Fontaine. Vhy do you bother me now?" Tenenbaum's stomach growled in irritation. She hadn't eaten for a few days, concerned more with correcting Herr Suchong's idiotic mistakes, and monitoring the progress of the Little Sisters and Zee Subject. Jacqueline. _I did not guess he would name her. That bastard Herr Fontaine _does _have a tiny shred of a soul_, thought Tenenbaum. Her stomach growled again, and she sighed. She had successfully ignored the hunger before; it didn't bother her as it would other people.

"Well, I puts 'er in th' tub, an' she don't like it none. Las' I checked, she's still thrashin' an' screamin' cause of th' water. I gots 'ere soon as I could. Can ya 'andle bath time now? Cause she don't know how t' 'andle them tubs and I got no time for this shit. I have to go to the office."

Oh. Dear. Tenenbaum nodded. Agreeing to this simple demand would give her some much-needed time away from that idiot Herr Suchong. Her stomach growled angrily as it protested not having any food for the past few days. She could also get bratwurst when she was away from Herr Suchong; he despised the aroma of bratwurst, and thus she couldn't eat her favorite food when she took lunch breaks. "Ja, Herr Fontaine. I vill vash zee _Jacqueline_ und make sure she ist clean."

-00000000-

Daddy had left Jacqueline in the bathtub. Her throat was raw from screaming, and she wanted to get out! Daddy didn't tell her she could get out. She didn't understand why she felt compelled to wait for his commands. She tried to pick up her legs and make them step out of the tub, but they wouldn't move. Her own body was a traitor. Daddy was a bad daddy! She loved him so much, but he was a bad daddy cause he left her in the scary bathtub full of water, and she wasn't allowed to get out! She shrieked some more. Daddy...when was Daddy coming back to save her? She needed Daddy! This was too much water and wet! Not like the sink she got washed in when it was Bath Time! Too much water!

Footsteps entered the room. _Daddy?_ No. The footsteps sounded like Mama Tenenbaum's shoes. Mama Tenenbaum entered the Bathtub Room, shaking her head like she was really mad at her. Jacqueline shrieked louder. She didn't want Mama Tenenbaum to be there. She wanted Daddy. Why was Mama Tenenbaum here and not Daddy? She didn't understand. "Where's Daddy?"

Mama Tenenbaum shut the door behind her. She took off her clothes. Jacqueline stared, curious, cause Mama Tenenbaum was her mama, and that meant Jacqueline might grow up to look like her. There was a bit of squishiness that looked like the kind of squishy the Little Sisters had on their bodies when they were naked. But it was different, cause a lot of it was in her chest. Mama Tenenbaum was a _mama_. Mamas were _supposed to _be soft and squishy, Jacqueline thought.

An irritated sigh came from Mama Tenenbaum. "Staring ist rude, Jacqueline. Zhat _Daddy_ of yours said zhat I vas to vash du. Stop zee squirming, kind." With that, Mama Tenenbaum got into the water. Why wasn't she scared of the bathtub?

"Mama Tenenbaum, I want out! I don't want to be in the bathtub! Bath Time is scary and wetter than it's been when I'm in the sink! I don't like the bathtub! It's scary! Mama Tenenbaum! Get me out!" Jacqueline splashed and tried to get out of the bathtub, flailing her arms and closing her eyes. She lashed out with her fists. She wanted to get away!

Mama Tenenbaum didn't get her out. She grabbed some square-shaped _thing_ and put it in the water. The woman started using the square-shaped _thing_ and rubbing it over Jacqueline's body. It felt wet and kinda sudsy. "Mama Tenenbaum, stop! Stop! I don't like this!"

She wanted to run, to leave the tub, but something inside her wouldn't let her. Something Daddy had said compelled her to stay put, even though every cell in her body was screaming to do the opposite. _Why?_

-00000000-

Translation of the German used by Tenenbaum in this chapter:

Scheisse: German equivalent of "fuck."

Kind: Child.

Kampffähigkeiten: Combat prowess.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: Hey, sorry for my absence! I had writer's block for this story, and just now I'm getting inspiration for it again. I'm really sorry in advance for Jackie's potty-mouth; it's disconcerting to write a child swearing like she does, and she's picked up her language from Fontaine. This chapter beta-read and polished by the amazing Storychan.

-00000000-

A few months after Jacqueline's terrifying experience with the bathtub, the worst possible thing happened: Daddy sent her back to the lab. Daddy must not love her anymore. It was probably because she was a bad girl, and still wouldn't take her bath without crying. She would have taken a million baths if it meant staying in Daddy's nice house with real beds and real breakfast. She had grown so attached to Daddy the minute he rescued her from the cruel, white lab where Mama Tenenbaum did so many painful tests. She wondered, if she was a good girl and did real good on Mama's tests, if Daddy would let her go back home soon.

She was laying on the hard cot where she had slept since she was a baby, scribbling in the coloring book she'd taken from one of the Little Sisters. The Little Sisters had lots of coloring books and sets of crayons and toys. They wouldn't mind having something taken from them. Wouldn't even notice it. They had so many pretty things. Mama Tenenbaum obviously liked the yellow-eyed bitches best. _Yellow-eyed bitches_ was a phrase Daddy had used to describe the Little Sisters, and it fit. She _hated _those meanie-pants Little Sisters so much!

Jacqueline had _nothing_ of her own in the lab. Everything she owned, she'd gotten from some of the Little Sisters. One dress, blue, that had puffed sleeves and was a couple sizes too big. One pair of shoes, black and scuffed from use. One pair of white undies. She had thought Daddy would buy her more clothes when he took her home with him, and he did, but she'd been bad and now Daddy didn't want her anymore. All her nice new clothes were back at Daddy's house. Now she had this coloring book and set of crayons, and they were also from a Little Sister, but she'd taken them from a Sister who was out gathering ADAM.

It wasn't fair! The Sisters got _everything_ from their Daddies without even trying! They had so much stuff in _their_ lab! All they did was just stand around and look cute! Sure, they took ADAM from corpses and drank it and gave it to their Daddies, but that wasn't why the Daddies loved them. The Daddies looked for them and loved them automatically, the Little Sisters were _made _to be loved by their Daddies. What bitches! They didn't do anything! She hated them so much! It made her want to scream and hit things. Jacqueline had to work hard with combat training and the weekly blood draw and all these endless tests and injections, and she didn't get love from _her_ Daddy!

Why wasn't she good enough for Daddy? She did everything to make sure that Daddy loved her! She did everything! Tears started to form in her eyes, but she pushed them down and bit her cheek until the pain overwhelmed the tears. Cause she couldn't ever let them see her cry.

A clacking of slightly-heeled women's shoes sounded near her room. Oh no! Mama Tenenbaum was coming! She hid the coloring book and crayons underneath her pillow, quickly hiding under the bed and laying down flat on her stomach. It wasn't as easy to hide under the bed as it had been last month, cause she was now seven and now weighed forty-nine pounds after Daddy kept giving her big meals and lots of snacks as rewards for being so good. She hoped she could go back home soon and get more of those. She ate everything he gave her, even if she felt queasy and sick inside.

If Mama Tenenbaum discovered that she'd taken something that didn't belong to her, Mama Tenenbaum would call her a bad girl and not be nice to her during Fun With Electrodes Time! She had to be good! Being a bad girl made her sad!

"Jacqueline, it ist time for zee bath!" called Mama Tenenbaum.

No! Not Bath Time! That was the worst! She didn't want Bath Time if it meant washing her in the horrible, awful, scary _bathtub_! She liked the lab's big industrial sink better, even if it made her feel like she was just another dirty beaker in Mama Tenenbaum's eyes. The big industrial sink wasn't scary. It was what she had been bathed in her whole life before Daddy came. But she was too big for that now. She didn't want to be a big girl if it meant she had to have the bathtub. The bathtub was weird. Bathtubs looked like beds with middles that got full up of water. She was used to the sink. The bathtub was _new_, and that was never ever good. In her short life, she'd learned that new things came with needles and electrodes and syringes and they _hurt her_.

She had to say something. "I don't wanna get in the goddamn fucking piece of shit bathtub! It's scary!" Jacqueline cried. Those were all words she'd heard Daddy use when he didn't want to do something. Mama Tenenbaum and Papa Suchong acted like they were bad words, but she used the same words Daddy did cause she wanted to be just like Daddy. She crawled out from under the bed, not wanting to disappoint Mama Tenenbaum at all even though Bath Time was soon. Oh how she hate-hate-_hated_ Bath Time!

Mama Tenenbaum gave Jacqueline that scowly angry look that Daddy often gave her when she made him mad. They were the same! Mama Tenenbaum and Daddy both hated her! They didn't love her anymore ! She was bad! Tenenbaum huffed, "Jacqueline, stop zee profanity. Zee bathtub ist vhere zee washing happens."

-00000000-

She knew she was a bad girl because they kept washing her in the bathtub, but why did they keep her around? Only good girls should stay with their Daddies. Maybe that was why those goddamn yellow-eyed bitch Little Sisters got love from their Daddies even when they just stood around and looked cute. They were good girls. Clad in her dress once more, she followed Mama Tenenbaum's clacking heels to a room that had a chair in it. Above the chair was a helmet that looked like the one she wore during Fun With Electrodes Time.

Ooh! Yay! It _was _Fun With Electrodes Time! Whenever that helmet went on her head, she got hooked up to lots of electrodes, they monitored her brain waves, and sometimes she got to hear the radio at the same time! It always played music or radio shows and things like that. She really liked Sander Cohen. His piano music was pretty, so he was her favorite. Her little legs scurried up to the chair. It was time for Mister Cohen to be on!

She sat like a good girl for Mama Tenenbaum putting the helmet on her head. Mama Tenenbaum put the electrodes on her too, on her face and shoulders and body, and Jacqueline smiled. "Put Sander Cohen on!" she squealed, tiny legs kicking out with joy. She wanted to hear Mister Cohen's music!

"Nein," said Mama Tenenbaum. Jacqueline pouted and stuck out her tongue. Mama Tenenbaum was being a poop-head! But she knew that she must've been a bad girl if she didn't get to hear Sander Cohen on the radio. Why else would they make her music go bye-bye?

A buzzing humming came through the helmet. Why? Why did it buzz? It tickled her head! That was so funny! She giggled. Mama Tenenbaum started poking and prodding at her with syringes, and Jacqueline stopped laughing. This must be punishment for her being a bad girl. She didn't like needles! She knew she was just getting her shots, and some other special formulas meant to make her better and more special for Daddy, but it just hurt so bad! She didn't like it!

Papa Suchong entered the room, eyeing her up. A syringe was in his hand. He jabbed her shoulder with it, pressing the plunger down as a yellow liquid entered her body. Liquids meant she was getting shots, but shots always hurt. Why didn't this one hurt? She had no idea. Never really knew anything that happened to her in the lab, just that it was what Daddy wanted and she didn't want to make Daddy upset by not doing what he said.

Her body felt really heavy, like moving would be too much effort.

"Suchong is turning machine on now," Papa Suchong said. Jacqueline thought about what that might mean, but then it sounded like a switch was thrown with a _click_.

The world around her went black.

A song in her head chanted _A-B-C_, and she was singing the chant along with it. The squiggles that were in the books Mama Tenenbaum read suddenly had a _meaning_. Those squiggles were _letters_, and _letters made words_. Perhaps that wasn't a revelation she should be having at this age, since most children in Rapture already knew, but she had never thought squiggles were letters or that she could _read_ the squiggles to make words.

She could half-remember someone teaching her to read, a small, sad woman who wore a green floral dress and a tan sweater over it. The woman...was teaching her and the Little Sisters at the same time, and she realized it was Mama Tenenbaum.

Mama Tenenbaum and Papa Suchong must have decided to experiment on her mind and see what she was capable of learning. They must have wanted to teach her new things with the help of the injections and the electrode-helmet. That was fine with Jacqueline. She was used to the poking and prodding and experiments. It would be abnormal if the experiments _didn't_ happen.

She expected them.

There were specific days when she had an experiment done to her and got a reward for being a good girl. Today was one of the days she'd thought she would get a reward. She'd been so good except for stealing the coloring book and crayon! She'd even gotten through her bath today without crying that much!

But Sander Cohen wasn't on. Rapture Radio wasn't on. Mama and Daddy must be punishing her for being bad.

All she could hear was chatter from Mama Tenenbaum and Papa Suchong, and that strange song. _Now I've sung my ABC, next time won't you sing with me?_ She could see words. Letters. Her hands ached, and a pencil was in them, and then her hands felt like they were _writing her name_, which wasn't a concept that she knew much about before now. "Zee subject's handwriting ist clumsy, awkward," stated Mama Tenenbaum.

"Stupid baby! Doesn't even have good handwriting! Make stupid baby do this three times week now!" snapped Papa Suchong.

"I am agreeing, Suchong. She is needing to learn skills."

What was this experiment for?

Why? What were Mama Tenenbaum and Papa Suchong doing? What was the point of this experiment? She didn't know. She didn't understand. Her head hurt so much, but she didn't know where her head was. It hurt, and she couldn't figure out how to move her hands to rub it and make sure that it didn't bother her anymore. Why? What did Mama Tenenbaum and Papa Suchong decide to _do_ to her?

She didn't know, and that was the problem.

New things were always a problem. What if this new thing happened again? It probably would. That might be bad! This could be punishment for bad girls!

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" she screamed, loud as she could so that maybe they'd leave her alone.

_Slap!_ Papa Suchong hit her in the face, growling. She felt him stab another needle into her arm—ow! That really hurt! Papa Suchong just wanted to hurt her. Why?

"You! Stupid baby girl! Shut up! Now!" snapped Papa Suchong.

-00000000-

Jacqueline sat in the corner of her room, hunched over and hugging her knees. She didn't know if they were going to start their horrible experiments again, but they would stick her with so many needles when they did. Cause they hated her. That was the only reason she had for why they would keep doing bad things to her.

It had become obvious that her beloved Daddy didn't want her. He wouldn't come to her rescue again; she'd be in the clutches of Mama Tenenbaum and Papa Suchong forever. That meant she was good for nothing.

A strange scritching sound made the girl prick her ears up. She sat up straight. Where in her room was the noise coming from? She didn't know, but she had to find out, cause the scritching noise kept getting louder and louder. It was so annoying! She didn't like it!

_Scritch-scritch-scritch_ said her room. Getting up from her little spot, she cocked her head and pricked her ears towards where she thought the noise was. It sounded like it came from the vent in her room. Huh. Slowly, carefully, she started walking towards the awful annoying _scritch-scritch-scritch_ing that kept filling her room from the vent. She'd never wondered that much about the vent, since she thought everyone's room must have a vent, but now it was starting to bother her.

As soon as she walked over to it, a tiny pair of hands opened up the vent. She looked up to see the characteristic yellow eyes of a Little Sister. The other girl had skin that was the same color as Papa Suchong's, with black hair in pigtails and really delicate facial features. She looked like a princess in a clean dark blue dress with short puffy sleeves that screamed _I'm special_. Just one more way that Mama Tenenbaum liked the Little Sisters best, Jacqueline thought, cause _she_ didn't look like a princess. _She_ didn't get new clean clothes unless she was with Daddy. Even then, her new clean clothes were still with him. She didn't have them now. It made her sad. She'd loved those new clean clothes and how they came from Daddy's department store. It was called _Fontaine's_, named after Daddy, and she liked getting to pick out her own clothing. She'd picked clothes that were just like Daddy's, of course, since she loved him and wanted to be just like him.

"C'mere, c'mere! Follow me!" cried the Little Sister. "Let's play in the vents together! I'm gonna find Mister Bubbles, and he'll play with us! He'll play with us and we'll have so much fun! We'll spin on his drill together and ride on his shoulders!"

No, Jacqueline didn't want one of the Daddies that belonged to the Little Sisters. She wanted _her_ Daddy, who needed hair on his head but was perfect in every other way. Why did the sister want to play with her? Did she think that Jacqueline was also a Little Sister? Well, Jacqueline _did_ have the same clothes as one of them. She had a dark blue dress too, with the same puffy sleeves. But her dress wasn't new, and it got cleaned whenever she took one of those awful terrible _baths_ in the horrible _bathtubs_.

Maybe the Sister would take her to Daddy. She nodded. "Okay," she said.

The Sister reached out a hand to Jacqueline, who took it like she was supposed to. It would get her to Daddy. She could go crawl in the vents with the Sister, and it would be a lot more fun than being with Mama Tenenbaum and Papa Suchong while they decided to do experiment after experiment on her.

"Come on!" the Sister shrieked. As soon as Jacqueline got into the vent, the Sister shut it behind them. She started crawling forward, and Jacqueline followed her. She had to follow her. She didn't know her own way around the vents. after all.

"I'm going to find Mister Bubbles. Where are you going?"

Jacqueline didn't know how to answer that question. She didn't know the vents. But she knew that she needed to find _her_ Daddy. "I need to find Daddy! His name's Frank Fontaine, and he's bald, and he has a big fancy place to live! Can you help me find Daddy?"

"Yes! I know where your Daddy is! I've seen him! He has an office! I'll take you there," the Little Sister said.

Yay! She could see Daddy again! Since she'd returned to the lab, she'd thought he was gone forever.

Crawling around the vent, on hands and knees like a dog, she couldn't help but smile the moment they came to another vent. She could see people past it! The world wasn't just the lab after all! There was a Rapture outside of her lab, that she could never have imagined the past few months with Daddy!

-00000000-

The imbecile of a special project he was charged to work on for Fontaine was gone. Somehow, she'd managed to escape from her room; he didn't know when she'd gotten out or even why, only that the stupid girl had left. Yi felt anger boil inside him, and he snarled in irritation.

Fontaine would have his hide if he didn't know the girl's whereabouts! Children were so stupid! He despised the whole lot of them in Rapture. _Chinese_ children were good, of course. They knew how to behave. Rapture's children were little brats who didn't have any respect for their elders! It was why Yi had been so eager to alter the girl with ADAM that would age her into a productive adult. He despised the thought of handling a bratty child for eighteen years. This way, the girl would become a productive adult in two years rather than eighteen, and she could be useful for Fontaine sooner rather than later.

Now he had to find Fontaine's precious project. Fuck. He was probably screwed if he didn't locate the little _báichī._*

The girl couldn't have gone outside of the lab; the lab was all that she knew, after all. Yi knew how to find her. He'd just check the entire lab. After all, _she couldn't have gone far_. At least, that was what he told himself. It made no logical sense that she'd manage to leave both the room _and_ the lab. Not when, except for Fontaine's house, the lab was the only place she'd ever been! She had to be lurking around somewhere.

Yi started looking around in his lab, grumbling curses to himself in Chinese when he didn't see the girl. She wasn't in any of his cabinets. She wasn't hiding under any of the tables. She didn't hide behind the bookshelf. She hadn't hidden in his closets.

Okay. She wasn't playing a trick on him by hiding in his lab, so that meant she had to be somewhere else. Scowling and grumbling more curses to himself, the scientist figured that the most logical place must be the ladies locker room. The girl must've assumed that no sane male employee of Fontaine Futuristics would voluntarily go in _there_.

Well, Yi was a sane employee, and he was entering that locker room! The girl would be found! He, Yi Suchong, would make sure of it! Tenenbaum wasn't stealing his glory this time!

-00000000-

Brigid Tenenbaum was changing into her work clothes after having taken a shower. It had come to her attention that she probably reeked of _dead slugs_ after having done a particularly malodorous experiment with the ADAM slugs today. As she didn't wish for her stench to be mocked by Herr Fontaine, who would most definitely notice _eau de dead slug_ and make a comment about her "terrible perfume," she had to shower.

The door to the locker room creaked open just as she was starting the process of donning her brassiere. It was probably another woman. Tenenbaum was going to just ignore the other employee. A familiar "Ahem" in a definitely masculine voice settled the question of who it was though. _Suchong_. She turned around, making sure that she could stare at him. He must need something. Or he needed a shower and had forgotten that this was the ladies locker room. It was most likely the shower issue. Science often meant one would conduct experiments with unpleasant odors.

Suchong being in there wasn't a problem for her; Brigid had never understood the social convention that stated men and women should not change clothes in front of one another. A body was a body, after all, and halting one's changing routine just because a man was in the room—or making some attempt to find privacy—stressed Brigid far more than continuing the routine did. Yet his presence was unprecedented. What was he doing here? More importantly, _why_ was he in the locker room while she fumbled with the hooks in the back of her brassiere?

"Tenenbaum," he said. Brigid managed to fasten the infernal hooks. She grabbed her white button-up shirt next, putting her arms through the sleeves before affixing Suchong with a pointed glare.

"Verdammt! Vhat du vant, Suchong? I am busy, und I am not having zee time for your nonsense. Du understanding, ja?"

Suchong rolled his eyes, scowling at her. He grumbled, "Girl has gone missing. Suchong doesn't know where girl went. Suchong thought girl would be in ladies locker room, but girl not here! _You_ here! You, Tenenbaum, help Suchong find girl!"

_I wish our mutually-shared language wasn't English_, Brigid thought, not for the first time. _If he knew German, or if I knew Chinese, we could communicate __much more easily__._ Oh how she loathed how clumsy and uneducated spoken English made both herself and Suchong sound.

She didn't say that though. Instead, she buttoned her shirt and sighed. There really was no other option, was there? "Ja, ja, Herr Fontaine vill make our lives miserable if we lose girl. I vill be helping."

"Do you know where girl went?"

"Ist logical assumption zhat zee subject ist hiding und lurking somewhere only a child could get to, vaiting until zee lab ist empty for zee day to go back to her room."

"Suchong have to say that makes sense."

-00000000-

After four hours of searching, the scientists had concluded two things. The first was that Jacqueline was most definitely gone. The second was that they'd have to find a way to tell Fontaine about the situation that didn't make them look like irresponsible bastards, get them killed, or get them banned from doing science in Rapture ever again.

So they stood together, a unified front, outside of Fontaine's office door. This was a terrible place to be, but they had to do it. If they didn't, science would no longer be a career option.

-00000000-

"I vill tell Fontaine," groaned Tenenbaum.

"No. Suchong telling Fontaine!"

_Seriously? Does he _want_ to be the one to tell Fontaine that Jacqueline is gone and we have no way of finding her?_ thought Tenenbaum. She knew how to handle Herr Fontaine; she had experience with Nazis that Suchong would never get. Herr Fontaine wasn't a Nazi, and he didn't frighten her in the same way, but he demanded the same level of kowtowing and sucking up to the boss that the Nazis she'd dealt with had.

She cleared her throat. "Suchong. Du must be listen to mein vords now. I can handle zhis. Du cannot _protect me_ from him."

Then, not giving him a chance to reply, she knocked on Herr Fontaine's office door.

"Whaddaya want?" demanded Herr Fontaine. "I ain't got time for this shit."

"Herr Fontaine, zhis ist Tenenbaum. I am having something important to say." Never mind asking him for permission to enter the room. She'd given him enough warning. Tenenbaum took a deep breath and opened the door, pushing it away with all her strength. Right then, it felt like she had nerves of steel.

"Whaddaya want, ya stupid Kraut? I ain't got time for ya an' yer creepy Kraut bitch face! I'm busy! But ya would know that if ya weren't a fuckin' stupid Kraut!" he yelled as soon as he saw her face. Tenenbaum sighed. The racism had to start right then. She should've known. What an asshole. She hated working for him, but at the same time, she needed him so that she could continue her ADAM and genetics research. Nobody else would hire her.

Tenenbaum took a few deep breaths. "Herr Fontaine, ve lost zee Jacqueline. Herr Suchong und I vere looking for four hours, und ve could not find her. She ist gone."

"Whaddaya talkin' 'bout, bitch? Jackie's right here. Get yer ass over here, an' you'll see her." With that, Herr Fontaine rolled his eyes and let out a rather rude belch. Tenenbaum wanted to gag at his lack of manners, but she was more surprised that Jacqueline had gone to find Herr Fontaine, of all people.

"I don't know how the hell she got here," Fontaine continued. "But I come back t' my office after lunch, and there she is. Ya got to keep a better eye on her if ya don't want me t' fire yer ass, ya hear me? I ain't got time to babysit the brat."

She walked closer to see if Herr Fontaine were lying or not. For once, the bastard was telling the truth about something. Little Jacqueline-no, Herr Fontaine had called her _Jackie_-was curled up asleep on Herr Fontaine's lap, sucking her thumb. The girl's hair was long and loose around her shoulders, and she wore a knit pastel pink nightgown that must've come from Herr Fontaine's department store. It almost seemed like an angelic sight, if Tenenbaum forgot that Herr Fontaine was an awful man and his lap was the most dangerous place in Rapture for a child to be snuggled upon. They looked like a father and daughter, even to the point when Herr Fontaine stroked Jackie's hair and she opened up her eyes to stare up in adoration at him.

This was obviously a ploy to make young Jacqueline trust him. From the way he'd been talking about her moments before she woke, it was obvious that he felt no _real _affection for the girl. All he wanted was a way to take down his oldest enemy, Andrew Ryan. And if he had to feign love for the troublesome child in order to earn her cooperation with his plan, that was exactly what he would do.

"I am seeing. I am sorry, Herr Fontaine. I vill not bother du in zee future."

-00000000-

*Báichī:Chinese word for "fool."


End file.
